Welding machine



July 13, 1954 A. c. scHANz 2,683,432

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WELDING MACHINE Original Filed July 3l, 1948 10 Sheets-Sheet ATTORNEY July 13, 1954 A. c. SCHANZ WELDING MACHINE lO Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed July 3l, 1948 ATTORNEY July 13, 1954 A. c. scHANz WELDING MACHINE 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed July 5l, 1948 ATTORN EY July 13, 1954 A. c. scr-ANZ WELDING MACHINE lO Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed July 3l, 1948 ATTORNEY July 13, 1954 A. c. scHANz WELDING MACHINE lO Sheets-Sheet 7 Original Filed July 3l, 1948 ATTOR N EY July 13, 1954 A. c. scHANz 2,683,432

WELDING MACHINE Original Filed July 5l, 1948 lO Sheets-Sheet 8 3m MMM @144mg JM? ATTORNEY July 13, 1954 A. c. scHANz 2,683,432

WELDING MACHINE Original Filed July 51, 1948 lO Sheets-Sheet 9 ATTORNEY July 13, 1954 A. c. scHANz 2,683,432`

WELDING MACHINE Original Filed July 3l, 1948 l0 Sheets-Sheet l0 Patented July 13, 1954 WELDING MACHINE Arthur C. Schanz, Glen Ridge, N. J., assignor to American Car and Foundry Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Original application July 31, 1948, Serial No. 41,834. Divided and this application January l1, 1950, Serial No. 137,935

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to Welding machines and is a division of my application Serial No. 41,834, filed July 3l, 1948.

An object of the invention is to provide a Welding machine with a pneumatic means for counterbalancing the gantry so that it may be raised and lowered accurately and with minimum effort.

Another object of the invention is to provide a welding machine with mechanism that will accurately raise and lower the gantry.

Another object oi the invention is to provide a welding head with dual hold down means for the sides of an element being welded to another.

A further object oi the invention is to provide a welding machine in which a movable platen serves the dual purpose of moving Welding equipment up and down and at the same time clamping together the elements being welded.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a study of the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is an upside down side elevational View of a side wall blanket for railroad cars formed of a plurality of welded together panels.

igure 2 is an upside down side elevational View o the side wall blanket having a bottom side sill welded thereto.

Figure 3 is an upside down side elevational view of a completed side wall unit showing the stakes, top angle plate and bottom side sill Welded to the blanket.

Figure i is a plan view of the first portion of a continuous jig.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional View of the jig shown in Figure e taken on line 5 5.

i ure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view through the rlrst welding machine and showing the Welding and clamping devices welding position with the blanket panels.

Figure l is a sectional view of the second weld- 'iachine taken on line l-l of Figure 8.

Figure B is a side elevational view of the welding machine at the second station.

'iigure El is a plan View of the welding machine at the second station.

Eigure lu is a plan view of the jig at the second station.

7Figure l1 is a fragmentary sectional View of the jig taken on line l i-l i of Figure l0.

Figure l2 is a front elevational View, partly in section, of the welding machine at the third assembly line station.

Figure 13 is an end view, partly in section, of

vWelds 3.

the welding machine and jig at the third station in the assembly line.

Figure 14 is a plan View of the jig at the third welding station in the assembly line.

Figure l5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the jig taken on line IE-i of Figure 14.

Figure 16 is a sectional View of the jig taken on line lE--It of Figure 4. permanently assembled side wall unit l for a railroad car is shown in Figure 3, the unit being designed for a hopper car for illustration purposes. This unit is composed of a plurality oi sheet metal panels 2 welded together along their adjacent edge portions 3 to forni a blanket. The upper portion of the blanket is bent to slope inwardly along line 4. To this blanket there is welded a top L-shaped angle plate 5 and a U- shaped bottom sill 5. Stakes 'a' are welded to the blanket, the top angle plate and the bottom side sill and are arranged so that they overlie the There are also stakes located between the welds 3.

The component parts of the car side unit are welded together at three stations along a cone tinuous assembly line, the assembly line being in the form of a jig 8. Longitudinally extending I beams e and transversely extending I beams lil form the base structure of the jig. Beams 9 are suitably secured to the floor i i and beams il) are secured across the tops of beams by clamp means i2 permitting adjustment of beams Il) in a longitudinal direction. "Rollers E3 are locate-:l adjacent each of the transverse beams and are rotatably mounted on carriers l-i fixed to rods ib extending into cylinders I6 suitably secured to the adjacent beams l0. Rods l5 extend into the cylinders and have pistons l' secured thereto. Air under pressure is controlled to flow into cylinders at either end of the pistons through air hose connections E8 and it, such hoses being connected with a suitable source of air under pressure and under the control of a manually operable Valve. Rollers i3 provide an elevated means for supporting the panel blanket when it is to be moved from one welding station to another and when such movement is to take place air is admitted into the cylinders to elevate the rollers to a position aboveA a work supporting table mounted on the jig base. After the blanket has reached each welding station the rollers are lowered below the top surface of the supporting table.

Supported on the base of the jig and particu larly on beams lll is table structure which differs slightly at each of the three welding stations to accommodate the location of the weldments.

The table structure consists of longitudinally extending side beams 26, transverse beams 22 extending between and secured to beams 29 and a central longitudinally extending support made up of beams 2i extending between and secured to beams 22. Pads 23 are adjustably secured beneath the beams to pads 23 welded on the tops of transverse base beams lll. Angle members 2b are coextensive with and secured to one side of the longitudinal beams 2t and ller strips 2t are suitably secured across the tops of the beams 2G, angle members 2t and intermediate beams 2l. Suitably secured on the top of some of the beams 22 at the first welding station and substantially coextensive therewith is an angle member 25 formed of copper. The other beams 22 at this welding station are higher than the copper capped beams so that the top surface thereof is in alignment with the top surface of the copper members The copper members are preferably located in positions where the panels are to be welded together as indicated at 3. It will be noted that the longitudinal beams 2B are adjustable transversely to accommodate different sizes of car side blankets. Along each side of the table at the rst welding station are arranged bell crank clamps Zi pivoted at 2l to brackets 28 fixead on beams it. Control rods 29 are pivoted to the bell crank clamps and terminate in pistons located within cylinders 3) wherein compressed air is supplied to actuate the pistons. The blanket panel sheets 2 are laid sidewise adjacent each other on the jig table and are held by clamps 2b along the top and bottom edges against members 25 on the longitudinal table beams 2G whereupon these component parts are ready for the Welding operation to join them together. Such welding is preferably of the submerged arc type. The welding is done at three stations along the jig line by welding machines 3l having many similar characteristics which will now be described. These machines are mount-ed on tracks 32 extending outside of the jig and parallel with beams so that the machines can be moved longitudinally at each station for a proper placement with respect to the work to be welded. The gantry is secured on trucks 33 carrying hanged wheels Sii and at each end of each truck is secured a column structure 35 on top of which is f mounted a rectangular top framework made up of end girder structures 3S and side girder structures 3l. Driving motors 3S are mounted on the columns at one end of the trucks and operate gears 3S vmeshing with kdrive gears 53 fixed on axles :il on which wheels Sil are mounted. Suitable mechanism (not shown) is provided for controlling the motor for ldriving the welding machine longitudinally with respect to the assembly line jig. Braces 533 reinforce the connections between the top framework and the columns while gusset plates d reinforce the corners of the top framework.

A vertically adjustable platen P is carried by the gantry. The platen consists of a rectangular frame having front and rear beams 42 and longitudinal beams 55 extending between columns 35 to which is fixed internally threaded nuts 43 through which elevating screws lil extend.

These screws are anchored at their base portions to the trucks and extend through suitable bearings 45 in the top framework. At the upper ends of the elevating screws are fixed gears 46 meshing with gears il?, and gears $7 are xed on shafts t3 mounted in suitable bearings in the top framework. Gears 4S on shafts de mesh with gears 5l? on shaft 5l. This shaft is driven by reversible motor 52 which drives belt E53 to rotate jack shaft 56' having a driving connection through chain 6@ with shaft 5l. The motor is suitably controlled to cause the elevating screws @4 to be rotated in opposite directions and thus the platen may be raised or lowered as desired. The platen carries means for clamping together component parts of the side unit to be welded in close proximity to the lines of weldment. At each corner of the platen there is a shoe 56 having a bearing portion engaging a vertically extending guide rod 5'! xed in each gantry column by means of angle irons 58.

The weight of the platen P is counterbalanced by pneumatic means in order to relieve the pressure on the elevating screws de and nuts |23 to thereby reduce to a minimum the power required to raise or lower the platen. rrhis pneumatic means takes the form or two opposite cylinders 59 mounted on the tops of trucks 33 and carrying pistons 6! having rods 6E connected therewith. These rods extend through the tops of the cylinders and are connected with the side beams 55 of the platen. These cylinders hav-e a connection 63 by means of which compressed air can be admitted below the pistons at a desired pressure which normally is approximately the force needed to counterbalance the weight of the platen.

The platen P carries the welding equipment and the means' for holding the pieces to be welded together. At the rst welding station on the jig assembly line a welding equipment sup-porting beam 55 extends between and is secured on the tops of longitudinal platen beams 55. rIhe welding equipment carried by beam consists of a head having a base carriage 5S, a bottom housing el, driving motor E3, electrode wire reel 59 and a nux containing hopper it. The head is driven along the supporting beams 55 by a drive roller 'li rotated by the motor and engaging a rail fixed to the supporting beam S5. The carriage is maintained in position by a guide roller 73 engaging a track 'it on beam t5 and another guide roller 'i5 engaging the rail 'i2 on the opposite side from the driving rolle;L il. Flux tube 16 extends downwardly from the hopper 'i5 and the electrode wire 'il that is wound around reel @9 projects downwardly through tube l. The electrode 'il is electricaliy connected with a suitable welding generator mounted on the upper framework of the gantry. it has been seen that the platen can be adjusted up and down on the gantry and, through a suitable control of motor G8, the electrode carriage can be moved transversely of the jig and the platen to make the weldment 3. r"he electrode and the iux tube are located by adjustment of the platen, operation of motor 53 and by the position of the gantry on its tracks to place the electrode directly above the abutting ends of the side unit panels 2 at the point where the weld is to be started. Upon operation of the motor 88 the welding carriage and electrode will be moved along the junction of the panels 2 until the adjacent edges 3 are welded together, the current being grounded through the copper plate 25 attached to the metallic table and base structure on which the panels are clamped.

The platen P of the welding machine at the iirst station also carries means for holding the adjacent edges of panels in position for weldment against the copper plates 25. Two series of clamping devices are provided and each series is arranged in rows. Each device consists of a 5 clamp nger 80 xed on the end of lever 8| that is pivotally mounted on a bracket 82 welded to an angle iron section 82'. These angle iron sections 82 extend transversely between platen beams 55 and are secured by bolts 82a to supporting plates flextending transversely between and secured to the platen beams 55. Outer hollow beams 35 extend transversely between the platen beams 55 and are secured thereto by angle irons 85. therewith is arranged a beam 81 having a top plate 81' with which a screw member 89 cooperates to raise and lower the beams 81. These screw members are threaded through the top portion of beams 35. An inverted cup-shaped member 83 is co-extensive with and xed to the under side of each of the beams 81 and beneath the top of such cup-shaped member and coextensive therewith. is arranged an air tube 86. Beneath the air tube and coextensive therewith, within the cup member 83, is an actuator plate 88 with which is engaged a series of plungers 90 extending through guides 9| and engaging levers 8|. The tubes have a suitable connection with a source of air under pressure and they will exert a uniform pressure against plungers 90 to thereby exert a similar pressure against the clamping fingers 80 to hold the adjacent edges of panels 2 against the copper plates 25. These clamping devices are 'fixed to and move with the platen beams 85 so that they are properly located by adjustment of the gantry and the platen. When the adjacent edges of two panels are welded, the gantry is moved along its tracks to the next adjacent edges of panels 2 to be welded and is positioned for such welding operation.

After the welding operations have been nished at station one the gantry platen carrying the welding head and the clamps is elevated and rollers i8 are moved upwardly pneumatically to carry the blanket wall consisting of the Welded together plates 2 above the level of the jig table at station one whereupon the blanket can be moved down the assembly line table to station two where the top angle plate and bottom side sill are welded to the blanket. The portion of the jig at station two is shown in Figures 7, l and 11 and the welding machine employed at this station is shown in Figures '1, 8 and 9.

At the second station in the assembly line the Li-shaped bottom sill 6 is placed on the Wall blanket adjacent the bottom edge thereof and the top angle plate is placed onthe other edgeportion of the wall blanket in a direction extending longitudinally or the assembly line jig. station the middle beam structure 2| is eliminated and the side table beams and 20' have fastened thereon longitudinally extending copper plates |80 and lill which form a continuation of similarly located plates 24 at the rst jig station. On top or" the beams 22 between the copper plates is a. ller plate 24'. rIhe wall blanket rests at its ends on the copper plates and along its intermediate portion on the nller plates 24'. Plate |00 has an upstanding lip |02 against which a leg o the top angle plate is positioned and the top edge or the wall blanket projects over the top of a portion of this leg of the top angle plate. The top angle plate is positioned against the lip |02 of the copper plate by a series of clamping heads |03 having rods |041 extending into cylinders |05 fixed on top of the beams |0 and Within the cylinders are pistons 06 connected with the rods |00. These cylinders are provided with air connections |01 and |08 that are connected with a source Within each beam 85 and co-extensive At this or compressed air whereby the clamping heads |03 can be controlled for release of or to engage and hold the top angle plate in position for welding.

The top angle plate is also held in position by a series of vertical clamps |09 that engage the top of the uppermost leg of the angle plate as located on the jig. These clamps are operated by rods |0 that are connected with pistons operable within cylinders ||2. Suitable connections ||3 and I4 are associated with the cylinders to admit air under pressure on opposite sides of pistons and in this manner the selection of the air inlet will actuate the bell crank clamps |09 vertically into pressure engagement with the leg of the top angle plate or they will be released from such position. The clamps are guided by pins |09' and the pivotal connection |09a rides in a slot in bracket H0 xed to beam 20. The jig is provided with a plurality of rollers I5 for positioning the edge of the blanket adjacent the bottom side sill 6. These rollers are carried by brackets H6 xed on base members ||1 secured between adjacent base beams l0. The table is also provided with rollers |13 on which the panel blanket is supported. The rollers |3 are actuated in the same manner at this station as they were at the rst station. During the welding operation the rollers lie below the wall blanket and when the welding operation is completed the rollers are elevated so that the blanket clears the welding table and can be pushed on to the third jig station.

The general characteristics and structure of the welding machine at station two was previously described. As was the case with the welding machine at station one, the platen P of the welding machine at station two carries clamping means and the welding equipment.

The clamping means on the welding machine for the bottom side sill at station two consists of a hollow beam structure |20 having an internal hollow beam structure |2| carried by a screw |22 that is adjustable With respect to beam |28. The beam |20 extends longitudinally of the jig between platen beams 42 and is suitably secured at its ends thereto. A housing |23 is secured to the bottom of beam |20 and encloses a rubber tube |24 bearing against an actuator plate |25 that is coextensive with housing |23. At intervals along beam |20 is arranged clamping heads |20 projecting below beam |20 and bearing against actuator plate |25. These plunger clamps |28 are arranged to bear at intervals against the uppermost base portion of the bottom side sill 0 and a suitable compressed air connection is associated with tube |24 to force the plungers |26 against rail 6 as may be desired to hold it in position during the welding operation.

The top end of the wall blanket is held against the leg of the top angle plate overlying the copper plate |00 by pressure clamping devices similar to those previously described in connection with the hold down means for the adjacent edges of the wall panels at the rst station in the assembly line. In the present instance there is a beam |21 extending between platen beams 42 and secured thereto at its ends. This hollow beam |21 encloses a hollow beam |28 supported by a screw member |29 adjustably associated with the top portion of beam |21. Housing |29 is fixed to the bottom of beam |28 and encloses a rubber tubing |30 under which lies an actuator plate |3|. This actuator plate operates a series of 7 plungers |32 each of which cooperates with a pivoted lever |33 carrying a clamping finger |35. A suitable compressed air connection is provided for tube so that the plungers can be moved to press the clamp fingers |35 against the top edge of the wall blanket at a desired pressure to hold the top angle plate in position for the welding operation at this station. The gantry at the second station in the assembly line carries. a welding head structure |35 which is supported on a hollow beam |36 extending across and fixed to the top portions of platen beams 42. This welding head structure includes a reversible electric motor |37 having a driving roller |38 frictionally engaging a track |39 fixed to the 'beam |35. The welding head also carries guide rollers and M. Also associated with this welding head is a flux hopper |42 and a reel |43 for feeding electrode wire |44 that extends through tube m5 which also delivers iiux in advance of the electrode. An electric welding generator |526 is suitably connected with the electrode of this welding head |35. This welding head is movable longitudinally of the jig and of the platen when motor |37 is operated as the rotation of roller |35 against the stationary track |39 will cause the welding head carrier to move in a longitudinal direction. Such longitudinal movement of the welding head will cause the electrode to move along the top edge of the wall blanket for welding it to the top angle plate 5.

Another welding head structure |53 is arranged to carry two electrodes for welding the legs of the channel bottom sill S to the wall blanket. The welding equipment is mounted on 5? a structure consisting of a rectangular upper framework |5| having legs |52 depending from each corner thereof and such legs are fastened to beams 132 of the platen. A welding equipment carrier structure overlies this supporting struc- *i ture and is composed of a top rectangular framework |53 and legs |54 that have a carriage I 55 fixed thereto. This carriage supports flux hoppers 5 5 and guide arms |51 at the ends of which are mounted guide rollers |58. Electrode wire reels |59 are also carried by this carriage and the wiring |59 extends downwardly and is suitably located behind the guide rollers |58. The electrode and guide means may be shifted relatively by mechanism that includes a shaft driven from motor |5| mounted on the carriage, such shaft having oppositely disposed worm gears cooperating with means on the hopper-s for causing such relative movement of the hoppers to and from each other. cate the rollers and the electrodes in the proper position with respect to the lower edges of the bottom legs of the side sill e. In the upper part of the framework |53 is xed a reversible motor |52 geared to rotate shaft |53 on which rollers |54 are mounted. This shaft |53 is also rotatably mounted in the upper framework |53 and the rollers |55 frictionally engage track surfaces 65 extending along the top of framework |5l. When the motor |52 is driven it will rotate shaft .|53 and the rollers |54 xed thereon will engage the tracks |55 and frictionally drive the carriage member forward or backward between the platen beams whereby the electrodes and guides will be properly placed and operated to weld the bottom side sill to the wall blanket. The gantrf,7 is placed in the proper position at station two above the jig assembly line and the platen is lowered to place the electrodes in a desired position at one endrof the top angle" plate and the bottom This adjustment serves to loiside sill. Operation of motors |35 and |52 will cause the welding heads to move along such car side members from one end to the other end. Welding generators |58 are connected in a suitable manner with the dual electrodes to transmit current thereto` The platen is then raised, the clamps released and the rollers I3 elevated whereupon the wall blanket can be pushed on to the third station where the stakes 7 are welded thereon.

After the wall blanket is moved to station three on the jig line, rollers I3 are lowered below the surface of the welding table. At this location the jig has the same base support consisting of beams 9 and I5 and table beams 20 and 22 as previously described, beams 20 having top plates 2t thereon and beams 22 having copper plates thereon in the panel unit where the stakes are to be welded. On the ends of some of the table beams 20 are xed brackets |10 on which angular spacer arms 7| are pivotally mounted. The free ends 'i2 of these pivoted spacer arms are formed to straddle stakes l and thereby locate them in their proper positions on the wall blanket. No side clamps are required at this station as the panel blanket will be located by roller brackets on each side of the table.

This station of the jig assembly line employs a series of rollers |73, between the spacer arms, upon which the panel blanket rests. The jig at this station also has the locator rollers l5 as previously described. The welding machine used at the third station for welding the stakes to the wall blanket has generally been heretofore described. In this instance the platen P carries the welding equipment and clamp means for holding the stakes in position during the welding operation. Such welding equipment is of the dual head type described in connection with the welding machine at station two and the clamping means is similar to that described in connection with the machine at station two for holding the bottom side sill in position. The same numerals employed in Figure 7 in describing the welding equipment and the hold down mechanism are used in this instance. At this station the gantry is moved along tracks 32 to desired position over the blanket as each stake is to be welded, the platen P is lowered to clamp the stake in welding position and to locate the guides and electrodes. Motor |62 is actuated to move the welding head carriage along the edges of the stakes bearing against the side wall blanket in a manner similar to that employed at station one. rEhis operation is repeated for each position in which the gantry is located for welding the stakes. When the stake welding is completed the platen is elevated and the rollers |3 are elevated whereupon the assembled side wall structure can be rolled on for further treatment` The invention may be modified in various respects as will occur to those skilled in the art and the exclusive use of all modications as come within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a welding machine, a gantry, laterally spaced wheels supporting said gantry for longitudinal movement in the horizontal plane, a platen, welding equipment carried by said platen, a plurality of vertically extending screw devices mounted on said gantry and in engagement with said platen for moving said platen vertically, means for actuating said screw devices simultaneously to raise or lower said platen, and pneumatic means for supporting said platen at any vertical position, said pneumatic means comprising cylinders mounted on said gantry, pistons in said cylinders having portions engageable with said platen, and means for regulating the admission of air to said cylinders whereby to retain said piston in supporting relation with said platen.

V2. In a welding machine, a gantry, laterally spaced wheels supporting said gantry for longitudinal movement in the horizontal plane, a platen mounted for vertical movement on said gantry, vertically extending guide rods fixed to said gantry, guide members on the platen cooperatively engaging said guide rods, a plurality of vertically extending screw devices mounted on said gantry and in operating engagement with said platen for moving said platen vertically, means for actuating said screw devices simultaneously to raise or lower said platen, pneumatic means for supporting said platen at any vertical position, said pneumatic means comprising cylinders mounted on said gantry, pistons in said cylinders having portions engageable with said platen, means for regulating the admission of air to said cylinders whereby to retain said piston in supporting engagement with said platen, and Welding equipment carried by the platen and movable horizontally relative thereto.

3. In a welding machine, a gantry, laterally spaced wheels supporting said gantry for longitudinal movement in the horizontal plane, a platen, welding equipment carried by said platen, a plurality of vertically extending screw devices mounted on said gantry and in engagement with said platen for moving said platen vertically,

means for actuating said screw devices simultaneously to raise or lower said platen, and pneumatic means for supporting said platen at any vertical position, said pneumatic means comprising cylinders mounted on said gantry, pistons in said cylinders having portions engageable with said platen, means for regulating the admission of air to said cylinders whereby to retain said piston in supporting relation with said platen, work clamping members xed on said platen, and pneumatic means carried by said platen for actuating said work clamping members.

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